HIV 101: Overview of the Domestic Epidemic Among Women and Girls & Related Legislation 

In honor of  National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day on March 10^th, 2015, The Women’s Collective is sponsoring a Congressional Briefing in conjunction with Honorary Hosts Reps. Barbara Lee, Jim McDermott, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen!

In the United States, 1.2 million people are living with HIV. Of these 1.2 million, approximately 1 in 4 are women. Women that are living with HIV in the United States are predominately women of color. For example, in Washington, DC 93% of women living with HIV are Black. A number of issues, including violence and trauma impact a woman’s initial risk of HIV infection and health outcomes when living with HIV. Specifically, women who have experienced violence have a risk of HIV infection 3 times greater than those who have not experienced violence.

This briefing will give an overview of the specific issues effecting women living with HIV, the effect of existing HIV/AIDS policy on women, and best practices for future policies to curb the epidemic and improve health outcomes among women and girls living with HIV in the United States.

Panelists:

• Patricia Nalls, Founder & Executive Director, The Women’s Collective 
• Ivy Turnbull, Executive Director, AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth & Families 
• Linda Scruggs, Director, Ribbon Consulting Group 
• Donna Crews, Director of Government Affairs, AIDS United 

This briefing, in honor of National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, will explore:

• Overview of Domestic HIV/AIDS among Women & Girls
• The Ryan White Program & Part D
• National AIDS Strategy & Women
• Intersection between Gender-Based Violence & HIV
• Policy Priorities to Improve the State of HIV among Women & Girls